Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Manufacture and Distribute Counterfeit Pills

BOSTON - A Lawrence, Mass. man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his involvement in a drug trafficking organization (DTO). Over two kilograms of suspected controlled substances and a pill press were recovered.

Jose Vasquez Lantigua, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute and manufacture controlled substances. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Jan. 28, 2027. Lantigua was arrested and charged in August 2025 along with co-conspirator Manuel Santana-Soto.

According to the charging documents, Lantigua and the La Culebra DTO controlled a large drug manufacturing location inside an apartment in Methuen, where a controlled purchase of drugs from Joshua Morales, a drug runner associated with La Culebra, occurred. During a search of the apartment, investigators observed fresh footprints in powders believed to be controlled substances. Those footprints led down an interior staircase to a second-floor apartment, where Lantigua and Santana-Soto were encountered wearing flip flops with soles that matched the powdered footprints found.

Shortly thereafter, the listed tenant of the second-floor apartment informed law enforcement that Lantigua and Santana-Soto did not have permission to be in her apartment and did not have a key to access to the apartment. Lantigua and Santana-Soto were believed to have fled the third-floor unit and broken into the second-floor unit before officers made entry.

During a search of the third-floor apartment, an automated pill press was located, along with multiple kilograms of counterfeit Adderall and Percocet pills believed to contain fentanyl and methamphetamine. Numerous implements used in the pill manufacturing process were also located, including cutting agents, blenders, scales, bowls and bags full of suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine powders and binding agents.

Santana-Soto pleaded guilty in May 2026 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8, 2026. Morales pleaded guilty in March 2026 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 10, 2026. Aris Arvelo Gonzalez, another member of La Culebra, was charged in November 2025 following a series of controlled purchases and identification of another manufacturing location. Gonzalez pleaded guilty in September 2026 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2027.

The charge of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute or manufacture a controlled substance provides for sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of manufacturing and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute or manufacture provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New England; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Essex County District Attorney's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.